Bring That Swing
by sugroinis
Summary: Alternate Universe! Set in the 1930s, Edd has a hidden passion for dancing. As swing music has taken part in Edd's everyday life he starts to meet new people, particularly a redhead named Kevin who has some peculiar vocabulary just waiting to jump off his tongue. Edd desires a dance partner, but can never seem to muster up enough courage to ask anyone. And Kevin could change that.


Hello! Sugroinis here. Nice to meet you!

This particular story is going to be multi-chaptered, mainly focusing on Edd and Kevin. It's written in Alternate Universe. This is set back in America of the 1930s, when swing music was very popular. Since the story dates back to 1930, some dynamics have changed. For instance, you will see that Kevin's hat is not a baseball cap. You will also notice the clothes will be described differently due to the era the characters are living in.

Nevertheless, I do hope that you enjoy reading this piece. And as always, here is the disclaimer:

**I don't own nothing. **(Wow, what a double-negative.)

* * *

_One, two, three, uh, one, two, three, four, ah! Two, three, four…_

His ears were filled with the sweet sound of clarinets and saxophones playing. The violin joined in and, occasionally, so did the guitar. The double bass made his arms move. The tempo was quick, beating in his ears, thumping hard in his chest. The drums made his legs kick and swing in every direction. He laughed and danced enough to look like a maniac, but his movements were so refined and precise that he looked like an experienced entertainer. The music could have sounded like a cacophony of artists playing their instrument all at once, but to him it was the greatest genre of all time. This was the big thing; that good old swing.

Edd spun around, snapping his fingers to the beat. His shining, new two-toned shoes tapped on the ground in a wonderful rhythm, but not a single body noticed it; he seemed to be dancing on air. His eyes were closed as he moved to the music. Edd was in a complete trance, letting everything go. He let his body move itself, weaving and dodging his way through the crowd of people dancing on the huge platform in the middle of the café.

When the song died away, applause sounded and those who had finished their routine began to leave. Eddward, trying to return to his normal self, was pushed into someone.

"Watch yourself, dork!" The man Edd slammed into held him by the shoulders. The man wore spiffy plus-sixes* that looked like they had just been picked up from the cleaners. He wore a fedora-like thing, but it looked like the brim was torn off except for the back of the hat. His red hair peeked out from under the strange fedora. Edd realized that this man had a light dusting of freckles across his nose and cheeks, and his eyes shone a light green color that reminded Edd of precious jade. This man was so peculiar; Edd lifted an eyebrow.

"A… A 'dork'?" Edd questioned.

"Yeah, dweeb, don't get too full of yourself."

"What, may I a-ask, is a dwee—**," Edd stuttered, utterly confused.

Just then, a prim blond girl pulled at the man's shirt sleeve. She was pretty, very, absolutely pretty, in fact. Her hair was medium length with soft waves and curls hair-sprayed into place. She wore a jeweled barrette in the shape of a pink rose.

"Come on, Kevin! We've got to get going. You know my parents don't know I'm out tonight. I've got to get back home." She said. "I apologize! It sure is crowded here. It's a perfect environment for pushing and shoving, and Kevin here really isn't a small man…" she rambled on.

Eddward was clearly attracted to the young woman. As she talked on and on about the redhead Kevin, Edd rubbed his bare neck; he was clearly jittery and extremely nervous being in front of a gorgeous blond girl.

"My name is Nazz, by the way, and this is Kevin." She finished.

"Oh," Edd grinned and made a goofy face. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I-I forgot to introduce myself; my name is Edd… Eddward, I mean, that's my name."

_How smooth and precise_, he internally scolded himself.

"Edd! What a nice name," Nazz smiled cheerfully. "Say, Kevin, isn't it a nice name?"

"I've heard better," Kevin commented, making it obvious he was not interested in getting to know Edd. Nazz frowned.

"Kevin!" she jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow. "It's getting late. Edd, it was nice meeting you. If we meet again, let me be your dance partner some time!"

"Sure…"

Eddward watched Nazz leave the café, pulling Kevin by the hand to come with her. They looked like they were very close, maybe even a couple. He sighed, feeling a bit exhausted from all the listening he had to do. Feeling quite accomplished that he had spoken to a pretty girl named Nazz, he did a little spin and tapped his feet in a tiny dance.

Somewhere, in the back of his mind, he could feel a pair of green eyes watching him do his jig.

-Ed'ited Break-

Edd awoke early enough to wait for his alarm clock to ring. He stared at the ceiling, his nightcap still fixed to his head. He hadn't tossed around in his bed, much to his surprise. In some ways, his body never stopped dancing. He would never admit it as it would cause many problems for others and Eddward himself in public, but Edd had an internal rhythm that he suppressed in the daytime, only for it to truly shine at night in the safety of music being played. His thoughts drifted off to the previous night. How happy he was dancing alone! He had actually pulled off some really snazzy moves. Not to mention, he also met a pretty girl named Nazz and that redhead man, Kevin. Boy, Edd was surprised Kevin actually wore plus-sixes. It was so outdated these days…

"No, no, that's not it." Eddward shook his head. "It's time to get up and, whoa!"

_Briinnnnnnngggggg! _

Edd jumped for his alarm clock. He carefully attempted to turn it off without breaking anything. When he had set the clock down on the nightstand next to his bed, his clothes were disheveled, his nightcap was thrown somewhere around his bedroom, and his dark, inky hair was a mess. Edd groaned, lifting his sheets and getting out of bed.

Edd's daily routine started by cleaning his bedroom as best he could before heading to the toilet. He freshened up, changed into his daily clothing that consisted of some old shorts and a rusty orange colored shirt all covered up by his nice suit jacket, and headed to the kitchen, where the big mirror stood. He washed his face, wiping it with a fresh, clean towel. He stared back at his reflection a bit; his reflection's big olive green eyes looking at him. He did his best to comb through his rebellious hair; those locks of hair were straight, but thick and coarse to the touch. To make it worse Edd had a case of a bad hair day, with one half of his hair sticking straight up in a cowlick fashion.

_Thank you, God, for this hat_, Edd thought as he put his stitched black beanie over his hair. It was his favorite hat of all time. The beanie had two white stripes on the side, contrasting with the rest of the fabric. It was a unique gift given to him by his parents back when he was a child.

As usual, Eddward's parents had already left for work very early in the morning and would not be back until the set had set and Edd was probably busy dancing his socks off at some café. They always left written notes and Edd _always_ read them before leaving the house. Today, his father had written to him:

_Eddward,_

_ Don't forget that you have afternoon classes today. Thank you._

Edd smiled, placing the note into a kitchen drawer with all the other notes his parents had written him over the past years. He hadn't forgotten about the science class he had planned to go to today. He was so excited for it, in fact. This would be his second semester at the university. The university wasn't too far away from where he lived, but it did require him to catch public transport. He went to school in the big city of Walnut. By bus, it was a little over fifteen minutes from Peach Creek to arrive in Walnut. If Edd was daring, he could even bicycle to school.

Eddward took a pear, washed it, dried it, cut it neatly, and proceeded to eat the slices as he turned on the radio. Today, Jack Payne and his Orchestra were playing. He tapped his foot, fully enjoying the music. As soon as he finished his light meal that consisted of a pear, he began dance about his house. He was so carried away that he almost missed the knock at his front door.

"Hey! You better not be wasting your time, Double D! We're goin'ta be late,"

Edd switched the radio off, hurrying to the door. He opened it, greeting his friends, Ed and Eddy. It was a little strange how all three of them had the same name, but Edd never thought it was a bad thing. At least they didn't all look alike.

"My sincere apologies, Ed, Eddy," he bowed quite modestly.

"Oh, shut your trap. This lump and I aren't here to take your sorry-ness, Double D. We're here to get you to get us onto the bus!" Eddy began to rant.

"Eddy…"

"Double D! I missed you!" Ed proceeded to hug Eddward, and Edd complied.

"Hi, Ed. It's been a week since I've seen you." He replied. Eddward pat Ed on the back, and then squirmed out of the embrace. He quickly slipped his feet into a pair of worn-out oxfords and grabbed his book bag. "Ready to go?"

"Ready as I'll ever be, Double D. Let's go already," Eddy whined, stepping out of the house. Ed followed.

Eddward closed the front door behind him and locked it. With that, the Eds went to catch their bus.

* * *

* - "Plus-sixes" are actually a nickname for knickerbockers that had so many inches of pant that hung below the knee. For example, if Kevin had plus-tens, that'd mean his knickerbockers would be ten inches below his knee.

** - The terms "dork" and "dweeb" were not used until the 1960s, therefore Edd is utterly confused when Kevin calls him names. For all Edd knows, Kevin could very well be the first person to say those words so frequently in the entire world.

I'm already looking forward to the next chapter! Reviews, comments, questions and replies are very welcome here. Thank you so much for stopping by!

See you in the next chapter.


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